Shortly after October 7, when Israel was in shock following a brutal Hamas attack, we spoke to an Israeli Defense Forces sergeant via Zoom. Neu Leib had just arrived in Israel to fight for his country.
Now, more than four months later, he's in South Florida, sharing an in-depth experience that began early in his reserve service.
“From the beginning, I decided to document my journey,” Leib said in one of the dozens of videos he posted on his Instagram page.
NBC6's Ari Otzer spoke to two South Floridians who have family members at war in Israel.
In some videos, Leib acts as a kind of narrator, explaining what is happening in the Gaza troops.
“We are moving towards specific targeted attacks, such as destroying the tunnel of terror beneath Shinwar's house,” he said in one video.
His 25,000 Instagram followers view his photos and videos. Mr. Leib has been an influential figure in the Gaza war, making him a fitting choice for someone who left his job at a tech startup to join the front lines.
“My unit is a commando combat unit, so we don't sit back and watch things happen,” Rabe said.
In one video, he spoke about his near-death crisis.
“This morning, literally 12 hours ago, my friend and I were on the second floor of a building and an RPG was fired at us from the hospital. It missed us by a few meters,” Rabe said. .
In our interview, he said that moments of combat are separated by hours of boredom.
“No one talks about the silence of war. In fact, there were days when it was completely quiet, but that was the scariest thing, because we know Hamas is there. Hamas is in the schools, in the tunnels, in the houses, They fired at us from the playground. It was like they were firing at us from anywhere, and when you know there are shots fired and there is a threat, it's strangely more comfortable than silence, because with silence, they… Because you don't know where it's going to come from,” Rabe said.
He said he was most surprised by the level of hatred in Gaza, as well as finding terrorist posters on the walls of children's rooms.
“I don't think children are born hating Israelis, and I don't think people will suddenly start hating Jews, but there is definitely brainwashing going on,” Rabe said. he said.
Gazans are beginning to stand up against Hamas, and Rabe says this is an act of immense courage.
“I not only sympathize with those people, but I respect them,” Rabe said. “It's easy to ask for a ceasefire. Believe me, we Israelis, we want a ceasefire too. We don't want this war. I say that as an Israel Defense Forces soldier.”
The soldier says Hamas will use the ceasefire to rearm and re-equip, but there is still a path to peace.
“If Hamas says take back the hostages, I promise. And if Israel says yes, the war will end,” Leib said.
